The Learning Tree Academy

By Sarah Custenborder, Bridget Dingens, Katie Shedd, Meghan Stier, Carolina Smit
Introduction (Katie)
Through our research, we saw tensions with the ideas of building strong relationships
with students, meeting the needs of a diverse classroom, and creating a safe and respectful
classroom environment. Taking these tensions into consideration, our goal is to describe what we
think would be the ideal school for all members of the community. Despite our varied
philosophies as a group, we shared the same belief that a school that celebrates diversity,
collaboration, and meaningful learning experiences would best serve the teachers, students, and
community around the school. This semester, we have learned about the importance of forming
trusting relationships with our students. Through the synthesis of the concepts from each of our
classes, we realized that we wanted to address how we believe each of our individually identified
tensions could be resolved. We have decided to do this through a hypothetical charter school,
Learning Tree Academy.
At Learning Tree Academy, we are dedicated to building a nurturing and inclusive
community that challenges learners through engaging learning experiences that promote
teamwork and foster problem solving skills. We are committed to ensuring our students success
and helping them reach their full potential. Our school climate is collaborative and focused on
student interaction and meaningful learning experiences that allow students to connect and
celebrate diversity. Using a multidisciplinary curriculum, our students are encouraged to go
beyond the standards and actively engage in a spirited, challenging, enriched curriculum
(Poetter, 78).
As a collaborative school focused on student interaction, we know students learn best
through socially constructed knowledge (Poetter, 190). This socially constructed learning aids in

linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Learning to build and develop

relationships is a lifelong skill that we hope to instill in our student beyond their time at the
Learning Tree Academy. Meaningful learning experiences are crucial to our school climate
because they push students to connect their personal experiences to the classroom through
higher-level thinking skills. Students who are able to make this connection are aware of their role
as citizens who are clear about their responsibilities, feel connected and protective of the greater
good, and value others and their differences (Poetter, 198).
Our multidisciplinary curriculum guides students to value the process of learning, rather
than simply the product. We believe that students and teachers should work as co-teachers, where
the student is as responsible for creating and responding to learning opportunities as the teacher
is. The curriculum is complemented by a multicultural education, where students are welcomed
to share their own values, beliefs, and experiences [to help] them to engage in class activities and
discussions (Wayne Au, p. 249).
Overall, our goal as founders of Learning Tree Academy is to produce collaborative and
cooperative students who value the input of others and the process of learning and problem
solving. Through our comprehensive approach to building relationships and creating meaningful
learning experiences, we anticipate a well-rounded and respectful student body who are
considerate and informed.

Curriculum Rationale
This curriculum is needed because we have noticed a lack of exploration and discovery in
modern classrooms. We aim to reach our students in a way that is accessible and relevant to their

own lives, and we feel that the best way to do this is through a broad and multidisciplinary
curriculum where students determine the content they are interested in and are in control of their
learning. Our goal of producing collaborative and cooperative citizens is of the utmost
importance to us, so we need a curriculum that addresses this goal. Through collaboration by the
founders of Learning Tree Academy, we were able to share our philosophies and create a
curriculum that addressed all of our beliefs and needs.
Almost all of the Learning Tree Academys founders share the educational philosophy of
progressivism, which focuses on the whole child. Progressivists believe that learning is rooted in
the child, and students should become problem solvers and critical thinkers, who construct their
own knowledge through experiences. We want to give our students opportunities to explore,
create, and discover. Teachers with the progressivism philosophy believe that schools should
improve the lives of citizens by promoting freedom and democracy in schools. They also put an
emphasis on student involvement in decision making and planning, with student interests as a
main focus for learning. In our school we have democracy and student-focused learning as two
of our main priorities, which stem from the progressivist views. Our progressivist founders see
the universe, and education, as constantly evolving and they understand that knowledge is not
static. Here at the Learning Tree Academy, we view education as a process of growth, rather
than a transmission of knowledge. We put our students and the interests of our students first, to
create a progressive learning environment.
The Learning Tree Academy also has founders who align themselves with the critical
theory and social reconstructionism philosophy, which shares many of the components of the
progressivism philosophy. They believe the purpose of education is to create a better society and
students have the power to reinvent the world. At the Learning Tree Academy, we also

incorporate this philosophy into our school and curriculum. We believe that teaching is a
learning process of inquiry. Our curriculum focuses on experience and real world problems,
including hunger, violence, terrorism, and inequality. We use inquiry, dialogue, multiple
perspectives, and community-based learning to address these social problems. We strive to bring
the world into the classroom to address social questions, create a better society, and aim for
worldwide democracy.

Curriculum Overview
The audience of our project are the children and parents in Meadowville, Ohio. There are
20,476 people that live in Meadowville. There are 10,273 males and 10,203 females. The
estimated median household income in 2013 was 59,414/year. The populations diversity
includes 50 % Caucasian, 20 % Hispanic American, 18 % African American, 4 % Native
American, 8 % Asian American. There were 10.4 % of Meadowville citizens with incomes below
the poverty level in 2013. The Elementary/Middle School in Meadowville is ranked 141 out of
610 and in the top 23 % in the state. The High School in Meadowville is ranked 214 out of 610
and in the top 35 % of the state. Many civilians are employed and over the age of 16. Careers
include Management, Professional, and Related Occupations (35.46 %), Service Occupations,
Sales and Office Occupations (14.25 %), Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations (.19 %),
Construction, Extraction, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations (3.88 %), and Production,
Transportation, and Material Moving Occupations (18.89 %).
The diversity in our school is promoted in the time frame of our curriculum. Our
curriculum is separated into two week long units. There will be four quarters of the school year,
when students will receive progress reports. During these units, students will be given the

opportunity to participate in Project-based Learning. These units can be used throughout the year
and are applicable to each other. Standards Based grading will be used for the projects and units
throughout the year. Project-based learning is a dynamic classroom approach in which students
actively explore real-world problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge, while
collaborating with their peers. These projects directly correlate to the units and can be used in our
K-6 schools. We want our students to improve their 21st century skills. Our curriculum also
focuses on inquiry. We want students to be interested in the content material, while providing
them with structure for each unit.
Student inquiry is one of our main objectives, while focusing on celebrating diversity,
promoting student learning and their ability to be successful, and eliciting student interests
through project-based learning. Students will have the opportunity to discuss ideas with peers
and the teacher in hopes of reaching their goals for their learning that quarter. Students will be
supported through the structure provided for each 2 week unit. The objectives for the students
will be presented as personal goals for them to reach. We want students to be goal-oriented and
be able to apply personal goals for the real world. When discussing the curriculum overview, it is
important to expand the curriculum in everyday practice.

Curriculum in Practice
In creating our curriculum plan, Learning Tree Academy wanted to create a curriculum
around our goal to produce collaborative and cooperative students who value the input of others
and the process of learning and problem solving. A large part in creating an environment for
student interaction and for a genuine, valid learning experience, is the integration of academic
subjects. We decided that our school is going to adopt a multidisciplinary explicit curriculum

based off of the common core standards. Using a project-based approach, our team of teachers
will create inquiries for students to explore that incorporate different standards from various
academic subjects at one time. This type of approach will allow our students to reach the goals
we have set for their learning. By focusing on different qualities of experience as our implicit
curriculum, Learning Tree Academy strives to reach every student and give guide them in a
meaningful education. We believe that a students interaction with his or her peers is essential to
learning. We encourage our students to reach their full potential by giving them autonomy to
explore problems based on their real world tensions. To meet our schools goal for our students,
we believe that problem solving and cooperative work are extremely important for student
success.
Our implicit curriculum of qualities of experience tie in our hidden curriculum as well.
As a school community, every student is involved in some sort of group collaboration, building
basic skills of human interaction. Skills like teamwork, listening, and how to respond to one
another are different items of our hidden curriculum that students build during lessons based on
the qualities of experience we take into consideration while planning. Since our curriculum is
inquiry based, we can include many different activities into our extra curriculum. Activities
could include nature walks through and the care of the school garden, field trips to museums,
plays, police stations, etc. These use of these trips is to expand on a relevant learning experience
our children are having in the classroom. Because of what our curriculum focuses and goals are,
we do have a null curriculum. In our classes, you will not see worksheets being distributed for
drilling like other public schools in the area. We will not keep our students silent during work
time, for that defeats the goals for student interaction. Our project based approach teaches our
students to understand that there is not one right way to answer a problem. Using our

curriculum plan, we have carefully researched and determined appropriate projects that will
fulfill our goals as a team.
At the Learning Tree Academy, we want to successfully implement a multidisciplinary
curriculum. We plan to be able to implement our multidisciplinary curriculum through thoughtful
planning in project based learning. Our goal is to draw upon our previous teaching experiences
and improve the teaching and learning for all students in our Academy. The curriculum we are
planning to implement will be a long, well-articulated plan that dives into project based learning.
The curriculum will be implemented by a diverse team of teacher leaders whose goal is to create
curriculum that is relevant to the students lives. As leaders of the Learning Tree Academy, we
will implement our curriculum through project based learning. Project based learning is an
approach in which we will be able to actively engage the students in our Academy and help them
to discover ways to explore real-world problems. Through project based learning our students
will be able to gain a better understanding of real-world problems, challenges they may face, and
gain more knowledge about these topics. To help our students acquire a deeper knowledge, we
will provide learning opportunities such as The Neighborhood Project.

The neighborhood project is something we are thrilled to conduct with the students this
year. This project gives students the opportunity to gain an understanding of their surroundings,
and come together to build a community. We will introduce this project to our students at the
beginning of the year to get to know one another better and learn more about each others
backgrounds. The project involves hands on learning, group work, and is constructed by the
students. The students each pick a model to construct, and as a class we will be able to build a
neighborhood our neighborhood. At the beginning of the project, the first step we will take as a
class will be to plan out our neighborhood. This will involve a lot of students involvement,
because they will have to decide on each model. To encourage variety we will have students pick
something different. This will allow for students to make creative choices and be able to
construct their own model. Once every student has selected their own model, we will move to

step two. This step was suggested by one of our teacher leaders, and we couldnt be more excited
to include it in our project. The next step will be for the students to decide on jobs. As a class
students will decide on the jobs they feel that our neighborhood needs. Giving students the
opportunity to discuss the different jobs that the neighborhood needs allows for student input and
creates a strong project developed by students. Some of the jobs the students may decide on
include painters, engineers, and architects. These three jobs should be implemented as part of the
project because each plays a major role in the project being a success. The students who are
painters will be able to paint the land and water in the neighborhood. The students who are the
architects will create items that they feel the neighborhood needs. For example, the students may
believe that the neighborhood needs traffic signals and signs, such as stop signs and a crossing
sign. The job of the engineers in the class would be to develop bridges and docks, and whatever
else the students see fitting. All three jobs are student led. The students can make decisions based
upon their prior knowledge and experience. If they believe that the neighborhood needs an
additional job or additional enhancement then the students can make the decision to add it. It is
very important to us that this project is led by students and they communicate with one another
to make decisions. They will also need to work together in the process of painting, stapling,
gluing, cutting, coloring, and taping. The students also have the ability to choose the materials
that they want to use to create different structures throughout the neighborhood. An example of
this is the students may use Legos, Lincoln Logs, or popsicle sticks to create the bridges in the
neighborhood. While the students are building, painting, and completing their various jobs, we
let them build all on their own. This project allows us to see the students creativity, their
imaginations, and how they work in a classroom community. As the students finish up their
models and their jobs, we come together as a class to discuss how we want to construct the

neighborhood. The construction of our neighborhood is very important to the students, we must
come together as a community to decide where the students want to put each of their models.
Through this project we believe that it will promote a strong classroom community where
collaboration and cooperation is the main focus.
Assessments/ Reflection/ Follow Up?
The Learning Tree Academys assessment approach differs from traditional assessment.
Learning at our school is very cooperative and we aim to nurture student motivation and desire to
learn. We use formative evaluations, ongoing feedback, and monitoring of student progress. We
agree with the Montessori approach that grades do not have a lasting effect on student effort and
motivation, but we think that through standards-based assessment we can give meaning to grades
and use them to help students master skills. Standards-based assessment measures students
proficiency on well-defined course objectives (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006). The critical
theory philosophy emphasizes challenging the status quo, and that is what standards-based
grading does in term of assessment. Standards-based grades give you a wealth of information on
the student and their proficiency on objectives. Instead of giving a meaningless letter grade or a
number, our grade books give information on what specific skills students know and what they
still need to learn, and it helps teachers adjust their instruction. This also allows for clear
communication with students and parents; we can share with the students and their parents, what
they have mastered and what they still need to learn. We hold family conferences a few times a
year to share assessments with parents, and showcase their childs work. Standards-based
grading also allows for reteaching, which allows for teachers and students to reflect on their
work and learn from their mistakes. The teachers at our school closely examine their content to

ensure that they align with standards. Our teachers are always available to provide guidance and
support, and our closely observing their students regularly.

Conclusion
What aspects of Beane and McCutcheons recommendations for collaborative work were
the most essential for your groups curriculum?
As we considered how we wanted our curriculum to book, we thought about the various
concepts of collaborative work that we have learned about and how those would fit into our
philosophies. We realized as a group that Beanes article, A Special Kind of Unity, encompassed
a lot of our ideas in a way that resonated with our goals as a group. One aspect in particular of
collaborative work that we worked to incorporate was the idea that each student has unique
experiences that determines how they deal with various situations in and out of the classroom.
According to Beane, These experiences, and the schemes of meaning we construct out of them,
do not simply sit in our minds as static, hardened categories. Instead they are fluid and dynamic
meanings (Beane, p. 4). The idea that each student has different experiences is crucial to our
curriculum because with our focus on collaboration and cooperation, we must keep in mind that
every student will bring a different point of view to the table.
Building off of this, one of the most important concepts from McCutcheon on
collaborative work was the idea that all students must feel a sense of safety and belonging in
order to participate in productive collaborative work. In order to work effectively as a group,
Group members need to view both themselves and other members as competent and as having
an investment in the group (McCutcheon, p. 151). At Learning Tree Academy, we place the
utmost importance on celebrating and welcoming of diversity so that our students are able to

work as a group with a feeling of acceptance and safety. While there are clearly many elements
that came together to create our complex and carefully thought out curriculum, the most
important ideas to us were taking each of our students unique backgrounds into consideration
through a curriculum and classroom community that welcomes this diversity.

How did your group work collaboratively?

Our group worked as a team throughout the entire project. At the beginning of the project
we were open to one anothers thoughts and ideas. We respected one anothers ideas and worked
very hard to incorporate everyones ideas. One of our main focuses of our collaboration was to
listen to one another. We believe that listening to one another helped each others ideas to be
heard and established respect within our group. Our group met four times outside of class to
work on and complete our project. It was difficult to meet due to everyones busy schedules, but
we found times where all group members were able to make it and work on our project together.
Meeting outside of class gave us additional time to work on our project and collaborate with one
another on creating a curriculum for our school.
Another main focus of our collaboration was being in agreement with each other. We
thought it was very important to agree about the decisions being made about our curriculum and
what to include. We all negotiation throughout the project, and allowed us to collaborate with
one another in a positive manner. Through negotiate with each other we were able to practice our
skills of listening and we were patient with one another. We were flexible with our ideas, if
someone wanted to add more to an idea or thought differently, we were all flexible with change.
All of our group members contributed equally to the project, and brought their own unique ideas
and thoughts to the curriculum. We all did a great job of thinking under pressure, there were a lot
of school projects due at the same time and everyone made this project a priority. We worked

very well together, and each person was a valuable asset to the group. We enjoyed working
together and are proud of the project we created.

What are your recommendations for future teachers based on this curriculum?
We have many recommendations for future teacher based on our curriculum. One
recommendation is to always incorporate student interests into the curriculum. Celebrating a
students diversity is vital for their success in the classroom. Through the promotion of diversity
in the classroom, we hoped to make a meaningful connection with all of our students. By
celebrating their uniqueness and diverse cultures, we hoped to create lasting relationships with
them. Also, by using projects to achieve a goal for the community, allowed students to not only
collaborate with their peers, but give back to a community that has given them so much. During
these projects included in the two week units, students were able to use their interests to guide
their learning. We stand behind this idea because our students learn through student choice and
hands-on activities. Our overall goal was to create students who value collaboration with their
peers by forming relationships and respect the learning process while using project based
learning. We believe this goal is attainable by any teacher willing to take the time to create a
positive and safe learning environment for their students.